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Putting my thumbprint on my first motorcycle.

27K views 629 replies 27 participants last post by  Country Cruiser 
#1 ·
I always wanted one. Dreamed about having one. Last spring I took my camera out to prowl about. Photography is my hobby. I spend a lot of time with it. I was getting bored with it. That is, the subject matter. Nature, birds, landscapes, old buildings.........I needed to take a sharp right turn. A new challenge. My wife mentioned seeing an ad for an upcoming bikers rally in Wisconsin. That was it. Photograph bikers. I landed in the middle of the Flood Run and thousands of bikes and bikers. It bit me in the hind end. I spent the rest of the summer photographing bikers and their bikes in Prescott, Wisconsin on the Mississippi river. https://7d-efphotography.smugmug.com/Saturday-at-Prescott/i-J6grMZQ

Mid winter just for the fun of it, I started shopping on line for a bike. This is where I landed. This is the online ad pic of the bike I eventually bought. Looking at it who needs to do anything to it. This is a stock bike. It looks great as is.

This is beginner 101 stuff. Most people here are well seasoned. BUT, if you're new like me, maybe you can walk away with something in your back pocket. I bought the Clymer 1300C manual and found the original Honda Service Manual on line, although not for a 2006. I did find an original cheap so I now have both. You'll never use most the info in these manuals, but if you're new to bikes like me I'm finding them very helpful.

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I guess you hover your cursor over this small pic to see the larger.
 
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#3 ·
Very nice. Welcome from central Pa. high atop the Alleghenies.
 
#4 ·
I'll document what I do best I can. No major mods in the plans. To date I added Paladin engine guards and Cobra foot boards. I have big feet. The boards feel better. The bars and boards were not difficult to install. You just need to massage the bolts into place, but they get there easy enough. One thing I'll mention. Adding the bars on the right side, I had to remove a clip holding the brake line so I could get the bar bracket tightened down. The brake line was in the way. The cable is stable with one less clip. This is unique to the Paladins, they use a U bolt to secure the up side of the bar.

Today I pulled the bike out on it's new dolly built of 2X6's and 2x4's with a couple lengths of 4x4. I use a scissor jack to lift the bike. One end of the dolly has a 2x4 that's bolted with lags to allow removal so I can slide the dolly between the jack. Once the dolly is in position I drop the 2x4 and lag bolts in to stabilize the dolly and then lower the bike onto the dolly. It works great. It's easy to make and cheap. The wheels are rated at I think near 300 lbs each. I can't imagine doing much at all without it even at this early point in using it.

Instructions for removing the front wheel: http://tech.bareasschoppers.com/wheels-tires/removeinstall-front-tire-vtx-1300/
Instructions for removing the rear wheel:http://tech.bareasschoppers.com/wheels-tires/removeinstall-rear-tire-vtx/

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Today I removed the stock exhaust. The new Cobra pipes will be installed once the sanded wheels and new tires are mounted. I removed the original pipes as one piece not bothering to remove the mufflers first. Removing the engine side bolts was pretty easy except for the notorious forward/lower acorn nut. I used a crowfoot to break it loose then removed by hand. It was slow. I'm not looking forward to putting it back on. I'm not going to use the acorn nuts though. I'll get 4 stainless M8 nuts and lock washers. An idea found on the forum. I don't want to have to be concerned about hitting bottom of the acorn before they are torqued to spec. Of course if you want to use the acorns you can use washers to keep from bottoming out. You can see I have my new Michelin Commander II's ready and waiting. If you've never done any of this as I have not, the wheel removal is a piece of cake thanks to Bare "Heinie" Choppers instructions. By the way. I'm no mechanic. But I can follow instructions.

One benefit to doing this work myself is, the piece of mind of my doing the work. I won't tell you the number of times I've double checked work done on my truck only to find out the mechanic didn't do it or used the old part and charged for new........on and on. I do it I and I know it's done right. It's good for my pocketbook and safety too.
 
#5 ·
Looking forward to keeping up with this one double C. Feel free to ask any questions to anyone!
 
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#7 ·
Congrats on the new bike and welcome to the club. Tip...make sure you use new crush gaskets when putting the pipes back on. It's well worth the few dollars to ensure you don't have an exhaust leak.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N920A using Tapatalk
 
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#9 ·
Tip...make sure you use new crush gaskets when putting the pipes back on...
...and be careful when 'digging' the old crush gaskets out, you need to make sure to not damage the walls of the 'o-ring' groove that the crush gaskets are in - they can be tough to get out... I gently used an awl to extract mine when changing to Cobra pipes...
 
#15 ·
That's a good tip... this isn't my first rodeo either but, I've never thought/heard of doing it that way. Thanks
 
#13 ·
This is his first motorcycle if I'm not mistaken.
 
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#14 ·
Hey CC... that is the best looking color a 1300 can have!! If memory serves me correctly, red always beats black in the curves... :icon_eyebrow::icon_eyebrow: (no offense Matt, I've not ridden with anyone else so I can only pick at you...)
 
#18 ·
10 1/2'' shocks make that possible... along with wanting to look at scenery instead of asphalt.
 
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#21 ·
#39 · (Edited)
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#41 ·
I'm 6'3", my bike has the ultimate seat and I put risers on the handlebars. I'm very comfortable with the setup. I will admit though that I don't like riding with my feet on the boards, I prefer to have my feet up on the highway pegs almost all the time.
 
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#42 ·
Today: Photographer Fail

Another decent day in the frozen north to get stuff done. I washed/cleaned the wheels and started sanding. I started with the fine grit eventually having to get to 220 to get where I needed to be. I can see these wheels will clean up nicely. I also wheeled the bones of the VTX to garage center and spent some time with a wet rag cleaning wiping down the frame and components. Dang, knock the road dust off and it looks like new. I thought I had read somewhere the front fender was plastic. Not on the 2006 anyway.

I'm going to do sanding as the temp allows. I have one of those 500w work lites on a stand. I suppose I could work on the cold evenings (I'm still employed) and that lamp does throw some nice warmth. Otherwise, I'm going to pull the covers and bring them in the house to work on. I'm liking this color more every day.

Now for the photographers fail. No card in the camera today. The stupid little camera let me take the pics though. I suspect there was some stupid little icon in the lower corner showing the international symbol for no card in the camera. :mad: I inspected the brake pads and they look great! I didn't take them out of the caliper but what from I could tell they appeared to be wearing evenly/symmetrical. I wish I was wearing evenly and symmetrical.......How about this aging bologna. By the way, as long as I'm there. How do you get baloney out of bologna? Very carefully I suspect.

Hey another nice week/weekend predicted for MN. I took Friday off.

A quick note. I noticed to day while I was sanding, dry sanding, that the process creates some really fine dust! I'm guessing that's why I may want to wet sand. Inhaling aluminum is probably not the best thing in the world.

After today's work, I once again retired to the deck with my corncob pipe to ponder life, love and motorcycles. Ya know, I have one of those potty chairs downstairs. I should wheel it out to the garage next time and actually use it. Smoking my corncob to boot. Open garage door. Hah! Last neighborhood Christmas party I'd be invited to.
 
#50 ·
Hey, I'm an old fart. I don't buy 6 packs of Coke or bunches of bananas anymore. I have to dive in! Or I may have to use a walker to get to my bike. I don't want saddlebags, but if I wait any longer, I'll have to stow the adult diapers somewhere! I'm having the time of my life! This is a ton of fun. Thanks for the welcome.
 
#48 ·
OK, continuing to learn. I have the wheels off sanding them. Spent a couple hours tonite again. Pitting is gone. Ready to start reducing the grit and making em shine. Back to the learning bit. As long as the wheels are off (even if they weren't) I should pull the brake pads and clean the calipers. Why let em get to the point of sticking. I'm thinking this should be a regular winter task any way.
 
#52 ·
I've been camping out in the garage with my wheels and sandpaper. Tonite was the nite I moved up to 320 from 220 grit. It made a diff and these wheels will be looking nice before long.

Keeping the wheels looking bright will take effort I'm sure. I'm thinking after any lengthy ride getting a hot soapy bucket and a brush and rinse is what's needed. I have no idea how long it takes for brake dust to start the pitting process. What do you all do? Thanks.
 
#53 ·
Honestly - I don't do any polishing for the whole riding season. I'll "knock the bugs off" with Original Bike Spirits, but rarely much more.

This past winter, a half hour per wheel with my Mother's Power Cone (on the drill in the picture) and some White Diamond aluminum polish and they look like I just did the entire process!

 
#55 ·
Honestly - I don't do any polishing for the whole riding season. I'll "knock the bugs off" with Original Bike Spirits, but rarely much more.

This past winter, a half hour per wheel with my Mother's Power Cone (on the drill in the picture) and some White Diamond aluminum polish and they look like I just did the entire process!
Glad to hear that. I also made the decision, as long as the wheels are off, to replace the rotors. They're starting to get ridgey. New pads, fluid.....go great guns. Get it done.
 
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